@article {711, title = {De novo and inherited variants in ZNF292 underlie a neurodevelopmental disorder with features of autism spectrum disorder.}, journal = {Genet Med}, volume = {22}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 03}, pages = {538-546}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: Intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders. We sought to delineate the clinical, molecular, and neuroimaging spectrum of a novel neurodevelopmental disorder caused by variants in the zinc finger protein 292 gene (ZNF292).

METHODS: We ascertained a cohort of 28 families with ID due to putatively pathogenic ZNF292 variants that were identified via targeted and exome sequencing. Available data were analyzed to characterize the canonical phenotype and examine genotype-phenotype relationships.

RESULTS: Probands presented with ID as well as a spectrum of neurodevelopmental features including ASD, among others. All ZNF292 variants were de novo, except in one family with dominant inheritance. ZNF292 encodes a highly conserved zinc finger protein that acts as a transcription factor and is highly expressed in the developing human brain supporting its critical role in neurodevelopment.

CONCLUSION: De novo and dominantly inherited variants in ZNF292 are associated with a range of neurodevelopmental features including ID and ASD. The clinical spectrum is broad, and most individuals present with mild to moderate ID with or without other syndromic features. Our results suggest that variants in ZNF292 are likely a recurrent cause of a neurodevelopmental disorder manifesting as ID with or without ASD.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carrier Proteins, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Humans, Male, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Neuroimaging, Whole Exome Sequencing}, issn = {1530-0366}, doi = {10.1038/s41436-019-0693-9}, author = {Mirzaa, Ghayda M and Chong, Jessica X and Piton, Am{\'e}lie and Popp, Bernt and Foss, Kimberly and Guo, Hui and Harripaul, Ricardo and Xia, Kun and Scheck, Joshua and Aldinger, Kimberly A and Sajan, Samin A and Tang, Sha and Bonneau, Dominique and Beck, Anita and White, Janson and Mahida, Sonal and Harris, Jacqueline and Smith-Hicks, Constance and Hoyer, Juliane and Zweier, Christiane and Reis, Andr{\'e} and Thiel, Christian T and Jamra, Rami Abou and Zeid, Natasha and Yang, Amy and Farach, Laura S and Walsh, Laurence and Payne, Katelyn and Rohena, Luis and Velinov, Milen and Ziegler, Alban and Schaefer, Elise and Gatinois, Vincent and Genevi{\`e}ve, David and Simon, Marleen E H and Kohler, Jennefer and Rotenberg, Joshua and Wheeler, Patricia and Larson, Austin and Ernst, Michelle E and Akman, Cigdem I and Westman, Rachel and Blanchet, Patricia and Schillaci, Lori-Anne and Vincent-Delorme, Catherine and Gripp, Karen W and Mattioli, Francesca and Guyader, Gwena{\"e}l Le and Gerard, B{\'e}n{\'e}dicte and Mathieu-Dramard, Mich{\`e}le and Morin, Gilles and Sasanfar, Roksana and Ayub, Muhammad and Vasli, Nasim and Yang, Sandra and Person, Rick and Monaghan, Kristin G and Nickerson, Deborah A and van Binsbergen, Ellen and Enns, Gregory M and Dries, Annika M and Rowe, Leah J and Tsai, Anne C H and Svihovec, Shayna and Friedman, Jennifer and Agha, Zehra and Qamar, Raheel and Rodan, Lance H and Martinez-Agosto, Julian and Ockeloen, Charlotte W and Vincent, Marie and Sunderland, William James and Bernstein, Jonathan A and Eichler, Evan E and Vincent, John B and Bamshad, Michael J} } @article {574, title = {Biallelic mutations in valyl-tRNA synthetase gene VARS are associated with a progressive neurodevelopmental epileptic encephalopathy.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {10}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 02 12}, pages = {707}, abstract = {

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) function to transfer amino acids to cognate tRNA molecules, which are required for protein translation. To date, biallelic mutations in 31 ARS genes are known to cause recessive, early-onset severe multi-organ diseases. VARS encodes the only known valine cytoplasmic-localized aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Here, we report seven patients from five unrelated families with five different biallelic missense variants in VARS. Subjects present with a range of global developmental delay, epileptic encephalopathy and primary or progressive microcephaly. Longitudinal assessment demonstrates progressive cortical atrophy and white matter volume loss. Variants map to the VARS tRNA binding domain and adjacent to the anticodon domain, and disrupt highly conserved residues. Patient primary cells show intact VARS protein but reduced enzymatic activity, suggesting partial loss of function. The implication of VARS in pediatric neurodegeneration broadens the spectrum of human diseases due to mutations in tRNA synthetase genes.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Anticodon, Child, Child, Preschool, Disease Progression, Epilepsy, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Loss of Function Mutation, Male, Microcephaly, Models, Molecular, Mutation, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Pedigree, Protein Biosynthesis, Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs, RNA, Transfer, Valine-tRNA Ligase, Whole Exome Sequencing, Whole Genome Sequencing}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-07067-3}, author = {Friedman, Jennifer and Smith, Desiree E and Issa, Mahmoud Y and Stanley, Valentina and Wang, Rengang and Mendes, Marisa I and Wright, Meredith S and Wigby, Kristen and Hildreth, Amber and Crawford, John R and Koehler, Alanna E and Chowdhury, Shimul and Nahas, Shareef and Zhai, Liting and Xu, Zhiwen and Lo, Wing-Sze and James, Kiely N and Musaev, Damir and Accogli, Andrea and Guerrero, Kether and Tran, Luan T and Omar, Tarek E I and Ben-Omran, Tawfeg and Dimmock, David and Kingsmore, Stephen F and Salomons, Gajja S and Zaki, Maha S and Bernard, Genevi{\`e}ve and Gleeson, Joseph G} }